A primitive Ork tribe

A five-kilometer-long void warship had never been designed to land on a planet. A warship propelled by engines that performed physical work using reaction mass would be firmly trapped by gravity once it landed on a planet's surface. The cost of breaking through the atmosphere again would be far too great.

But Cheng Mingrui did not care about any of that. Nor did he care how many boyz died in the impact. That was how Orks were: utterly indifferent to their own lives and those of others.

Besides, the damage and casualties caused by the landing were minor losses compared with the enormous benefit of gaining cover. The gigantic mushroom cloud would send vast quantities of dust into the atmosphere, where it would spread across hundreds of square kilometers and block all observation from space.

That would prevent orbital bombardment from space and buy time to disperse and develop.

Aboard the Guardian, which had witnessed the Glory Knight's entire descent, the captain immediately ordered the video recording transmitted to the Governor's Palace on Euronia 3. It was his ticket to claiming credit and a reward.

Conwater had been discussing the reorganization of the Defense Force with Pex when he heard that the Glory Knight had been shot down. He was so delighted that he nearly lost his composure.

"General Pex, it seems our preparations were unnecessary. The Orks failed to escape pursuit. They were shot down over Euronia 4. Here, this is the footage of the crash."

Pex took the simple terminal and studied every frame carefully. Only after watching it twice did he return the terminal to Conwater.

"Your Excellency, I believe we must not only continue the reorganization, but also expand our armaments and factories, preparing for a war that could last years, decades, perhaps even centuries," Pex said gravely.

"Huh? Why?" Conwater looked baffled. "Euronia 4 is a rocky planet that's difficult to develop. It has little water, a thin atmosphere, and almost no plant or animal life. With an impact that severe, followed by those explosions, all the Xenos aboard should be dead."

"No!!!" Pex, who had always seemed mild-mannered and refined, roared. "Do not underestimate those damned green monsters!"

Whatever Pex's motives might have been, his concern over the Orks and his hatred for them were entirely genuine.

"Ah... my apologies. I lost my composure, Your Excellency." Faced with the dumbstruck Conwater and the assembled officers and staff officers, Pex immediately saluted and apologized.

"..." Conwater recovered from his earlier elation and asked calmly, "General Pex, why do you take these green monsters so seriously? They're merely a bunch of backward, barbaric alien Xenos, aren't they?"

Backward, barbaric alien Xenos-that was how many nobles of the Imperium of Man understood the Orks. Even commoners mocked them for charging human defensive lines with battered axes and rocks, wearing slabs of steel.

In films celebrating the might of the Imperium of Man, Orks were also frequently portrayed as villains, mowed down in swathes by machine guns under the heroic fire of human soldiers, or blown into mince by artillery barrages.

To many people, Conwater's contempt for the Orks was perfectly natural. Did a race that still used rocks and axes and relied on numbers to win wars really deserve so much concern?

Deep down, Pex despised the humans around him. They were far too shortsighted. Just moments earlier, when the Orks had charged toward them in a warship, they had been afraid and had managed to take the threat somewhat seriously.

Now that the crisis had eased just a little, they had grown arrogant and careless. This race was too young. Backward thinking and understanding were the true forms of backwardness!

"No. Many people have been deceived by the Orks' seemingly stupid appearance. They are cunning, intelligent, obsessed with war, and possess all kinds of strange technology. Most frightening of all, their numbers are endless..." Pex explained patiently.

"Ork logic is very simple. It has only one principle: war, endless war. They are born to wage war, either killing their enemies or being killed by them."

"If a small piece of an Ork's severed limb happens to land on a planet by chance, it will take root and sprout. Before long, huge numbers of green monsters will grow beneath the planet's surface: Orks, Gretchin, and Squigs."

Like a storyteller, Pex slowly laid out the traits of the Ork species.

"A primitive Ork tribe will soon form, and its numbers will keep growing. If there is a civilization on that planet, the Orks will be delighted. They will gather to attack it and grow rapidly through warfare.

If that civilization cannot wipe out the Orks quickly, their technology will advance in an explosive surge, as though by magic.

The first time you encounter Orks, they may still be using rocks and bows. The second time, they will have begun experimenting with gunpowder and cannons. The third time, they may be carrying plasma weapons and wearing towering suits of armor. The fourth time, they might have mighty Titans..."

Pex's words made his listeners' scalps prickle. How could technology possibly advance like that? Not even the Adeptus Mechanicus on Mars could manage it! Such leaps in development could only be a manifestation of the Omnissiah.

"Generally, time is on the side of the Ork Xenos, and the native civilization will ultimately be destroyed. Seeking stronger opponents so they can continue waging war, the Orks will begin fighting among themselves until a warlord emerges."

"Then that warlord will lead all the Orks in developing technology at an even more incredible pace, building ships capable of leaving the planet and launching an Ork crusade. During that crusade, the Orks will either defeat their enemies or be defeated by them.

After their defeat, the Orks' corpses will drift through space. If, by chance, a piece of a severed Ork limb lands on a new planet... before long, another primitive Ork tribe will be born."

"That is why Orks are endless throughout the universe, impossible to eradicate, and known as the green plague." When Pex finished his story, the atmosphere seemed to freeze. No one dared speak, and no one knew what to say.

Conwater swallowed and asked, "General Pex, what do you think we should do now?"

"Do as I just said, and begin mobilizing. Prepare to send troops to Euronia 4 and nip this threat in the bud," Pex said fiercely.

On the gray, hazy surface of Euronia 4, Cheng Mingrui was thoroughly dejected. This place was far too desolate. Nothing but rocks, rocks everywhere, and not even any surface water. Could mushrooms grow here?

Should he think harder and find another way, or hide for now, wait for Iron Claw and the others to establish themselves on the Human Homeworld, then fix up a ship and head over to stir up trouble? That was the question.